Daddying Gets Its Due This Fathers' Day with PBS Series "Grown Up Dad"
- Allan Shedlin
- Jun 11
- 5 min read
Updated: Jun 19
A Guest Post by Joe Gidjunis
Director, Producer, and Host, Grown UP Dad
EDITOR'S NOTE: I still remember thinking it was a prank when the voice at the other end of the phone identified himself as calling from Obama's White House Office of Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships – the office responsible for fatherhood programs nationwide. It was 2009, a few months after my New York Times commentary, "The Daddying Movement – A Gentle Revolution," appeared. They asked if I would come in to share some ideas about how President Obama could start a "fatherhood movement." Of course, I was honored and jumped at the opportunity.
When I got to the Office, I boldly asked, "What's the title of the Times piece I sent you?" My point was I believed such a Movement already existed. I suggested that, perhaps, a more appropriate question would be, "How does the President lead this Movement that already exists?"
Happily, my audacity did not prompt them to toss me out of the office. And one of the results of our discussion was for the White House to participate in a day-long "Fatherhood Forum" in New Mexico, where I had been doing a great deal of work with dads across the state. President Obama sent a video greeting for the Forum, and both U.S. Senators attended. The day resulted in the creation of a blueprint for father involvement in the state. I also was invited to present the full report to the White House and later recognized by them in a ceremony acknowledging individuals who had done the most to foster father involvement in each state. If I was updating my 2009 Daddying Movement commentary today, I would call it an "evolution," not a "revolution." That seems more accurate.
The terrific new PBS docuseries, Grown UP Dad is an important indication the Daddying Movement is alive and well. Of course, Fathers’ Day is a perfect time for it to launch. This week, Grown UP Dad's creator and Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F) 2025 Atticus Award-winner for Best Documentary Short Joe Gidjunis submitted a version of the following op-ed to news outlets nationwide. We're publishing it on the Daddying blog with his permission. Thank you, Joe – Happy Fathers' Day and Daddy on! - Allan
Every Fathers' Day, Americans applaud dads who actively participate in parenting. We shower praise upon those who take on diaper duties, attend PTA meetings, and embrace emotional vulnerability.
Yet beneath these gestures lies an uncomfortable truth: despite our rhetoric, society neither expects, nor truly desires, parents to share caregiving responsibilities equally. In hosting my PBS TV documentary series Grown UP Dad, I’ve explored firsthand the complexities of modern fatherhood. My pursuit of becoming an involved, emotionally-present dad has elicited diverse reactions – from admiration to skepticism.
Fathers are often implicitly granted a pass for tasks that are considered essential for mothers. A dad taking a child to a pediatrician, shopping for groceries or attending a parent-teacher conference is routinely praised for simply doing the basics. For mothers, these actions are baseline expectations, and if they are missed for any reason, criticism abounds.
Recent research underscores this contradiction. A 2024 U.S. Surgeon General’s report declared parental stress a national public health issue. This stress disproportionately impacts mothers, who still shoulder most parenting burdens – physically, mentally, and emotionally. Additionally, last month, an 8-year study from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that now only 1 out of 4 moms rate their mental health as excellent – a 13 percent drop over the course of the survey.
Why does this imbalance persist for moms? Most fathers aren’t incentivized to become equal
parenting partners. Despite a majority acceptance of stay-at-home dads and those who take parental leave, workplace norms continue to discourage fathers from embracing these roles fully for fear of professional repercussions and social stigma.
This double standard is troubling.
While we verbally champion engaged fatherhood, we are far from expecting fathers to genuinely contribute equal parental responsibilities. For example, I work just blocks from my son's school, and my wife is a 30-minute commute away. While my name is purposefully listed first on school contact and emergency call lists, my spouse almost always gets the first phone call.
Despite a majority acceptance of stay-at-home dads and those who take parental leave, workplace norms continue to discourage fathers from embracing these roles fully for fear of professional repercussions and social stigma.
Recognizing these realities does not mean we should abandon the pursuit of more active and engaged fathers. We dads need to move beyond superficial participation and advocate for meaningful policy changes, such as universal parental leave and workplace flexibility.
This Fathers' Day, let’s celebrate the dads who strive to make this world better for their families, but let’s not stop at one annual performative celebration. It’s time to go all-in – to embrace family life as fully-present adults, and to advocate for meaningful societal change. We have every reason to be hopeful about how fatherhood – and parenting overall – can become more grown up, hands-on, and widely supported across the United States.
Celebrate Fathers' Day!
Screen Episodes of Grown UP Dad on PBS & Create Your Own Video to Submit For D3F 2026!
D3F 2026 Call for Entries Begins Sunday, June 15th on FilmFreeway!
Joseph Gidjunis is the host and director of the PBS documentary series and 2025 Atticus Award-winner Grown UP Dad. He is married to his wonderful wife, Rebecca, and they have an 8-year-old son, Gabe, and a dog, Max. Grown UP Dad, Season 1 is available to stream on PBS Passport and will be broadcast nationwide this Father’s Day, July 15, 2025. Joe is an award-winning journalist, director, and entrepreneur. He started as a newspaper reporter covering complex stories and politics for regional and national papers, including USA Today. For 20 years, Joe has led his production studio, becoming known for photographing celebrities, CEOs, and politicians. Some of his most notable work was documenting Pope Francis on his visit to the United States in 2015. He has directed commercial films, earning 13 Telly awards in 2020 and 2021. Joe also is a union set photographer in IATSE 600, and has served as a producer on the soon-to-be released feature, Brave the Dark. Follow Joe and Grown UP Dad on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
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